Irish Examiner view: Power of local democracy is wilting across Ireland

The balance of power is out of kilter because our local authorities do not have the income to deliver imaginative, creative local government

Cork County Council refused to give public representatives the cost of claims lodged against it over what were described as defective footpaths or roads. Picture: Denis Minihane

The idea of local democracy is increasingly nebulous; it is an aspiration made almost unachievable by the concentration of power.

OECD figures confirm this regression. 

In most countries there’s a balance between national and regional spending. Denmark is exceptional; they deliver 65% of public spending through local conduits, well above the average of 41%. 

In Ireland, that figure is 9%. Our local authorities do not have the income to deliver imaginative, creative local government. The balance of power is out of kilter.

Unfortunately, local agencies may not have the commitment to local democracy needed to make it a success either. 

This was highlighted this week when Cork County Council refused to give public representatives the cost of claims lodged against it over what were described as defective footpaths or roads.

Unelected officials told elected representatives that how they spend our money is none of our business. 

The usual dodge, that the information was “commercially sensitive” was brought into play.

Commercially sensitive to whom? And why?

The pandemic has provoked a flight from urban centres — and that may accelerate. For that reason alone, hostility to accountability and local democracy must change. 

That such a change could be a catalyst for the rejuvenation of wilting local government makes it doubly desireable. 

Public expenditure must always mean public accountability.